Beck's teammates taking blame

Team captain Jason Taylor warned not to "crucify" rookie quarterback John Beck for the team's poor showing Sunday. Starting guard Rex Hadnot took it a step further, putting the offensive line at the front of the blame game for the Dolphins' 40-13 loss to the New York Jets.

"Our execution doesn't have anything to do with who is out there throwing the ball, taking snaps," Hadnot said. "It's totally on us up front, and we've got to do a better job."

According to coach Cam Cameron, there's plenty of blame to go around. Whether it's been the weather, injuries, the shaky play of a rookie quarterback or the offensive line's recent regression, Sunday's poor showing was the third consecutive game in which the Dolphins' offense has looked inept.

The last time the Dolphins scored an offensive touchdown was Nov. 11 against the Buffalo Bills, whom the Dolphins face Sunday. This is the first time in franchise history the Dolphins have failed to score an offensive touchdown in three consecutive games.

Both touchdowns scored during three Beck's starts came on returns: Ted Ginn Jr., with an Eagles punt, and Michael Lehan, with a fumble by the Jets' Kellen Clemens.

The Dolphins gained 37 yards on 18 carries against the Jets, the lowest total since they amassed 7 yards on 13 attempts in a 24-20 win over Minnesota last year.

Over the past three games, the Dolphins have rushed for 163 yards on 66 carries, which averages out to 2.4 yards per carry. That's a huge drop from the 5.0 yards a carry the Dolphins boasted before this three-game stretch.

The Dolphins have failed to produce 200 yards of offense in each of the past three games, and scored 20 points collectively against the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Jets. The Dolphins are averaging 16.3 points, which is tied for 27th in the NFL.

While the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh losses were against formidable defenses - played in rainy and muddy conditions - the Jets were the 30th-ranked defense coming into Sunday. New York forced Beck into five turnovers, and the Dolphins' second-round pick fumbled three times on sacks from his blindside.

"We're going to keep fighting because we know we can be better, and it takes work, and we're going to go out there and do that work," said Beck, who has compiled a 53.6 passer rating in his three starts, which is ranked 61st in the NFL.

Although Beck started playing three games ago, just when the offense dropped off noticeably, Cameron doesn't want to make that connection.

"I'm not worried about John as much as I am our whole offensive unit, collectively," he said. "I think we all know quarterback play is a huge part of any team or any offense. We know that. But it's our entire unit - everybody, our offensive line, our backs, our tight ends, our receivers - that's the unit."

The week of the Oct. 7 Houston game, which was Trent Green's last game, the Dolphins were ranked 12th in yards per offensive play. Since then, Cameron's offense has steadily fallen to 24th with a 4.9 average.

Since Beck got the nod as starter, Dolphins opponents have been daring the quarterback to throw by jamming running lanes. It hasn't helped that the running game has been hampered by Jesse Chatman's ankle injury.

Also not helping matters is Ronnie Brown's season-ending knee injury and the pectoral tear Ricky Williams suffered in his lone game back from his NFL suspension. Their loss further depleted the team's depth at that critical position, but Hadnot couldn't care less who's back there handling the ball.

"Until we start blocking people, I can't point or look any other direction," Hadnot said. "There wasn't a spurt in there where we put together consecutive plays where we all executed like we were supposed to."

The struggles brought about a change on the offensive line Sunday, as Chris Liwienski was replaced by Cory Lekkerkerker at left guard for the second half of the game. Cameron wouldn't explain the move but said it wasn't injury-related.

"Offensive line is a unit where you have to be consistent on every play," Lekkerkerker said. "If you play good 59 snaps and one of the snaps you give up a sack, then you're name gets called and everyone thinks you played a horrible game. We've got to continue to work, making sure our name doesn't get called."